Best tv shows like The Guardian
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Nick Fallin is a hotshot lawyer working at his father's ultrasuccessful Pittsburgh law firm. Unfortunately, the high life has gotten the best of Nick. Arrested for drug use, he's sentenced to do 1,500 hours of community service, somehow to be squeezed into his 24/7 cutthroat world of mergers, acquisitions and board meetings. Reluctantly, he's now The Guardian - a part-time child advocate at Legal Aid Services, where one case after another is an eye-opening instance of kids caught up in difficult circumstances.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: rough, realistic, suspenseful, semi serious, sensitive
Best tv shows and movies like The Guardian (2001):
Similar in 77%
Family Law (1999)
Plot Summary:
Family attorney and mom Lynn Holt has had to scramble to keep her family and her law firm together since her husband left her and took most of their joint law practice with him. Although the attorneys are carting plenty of life's baggage, they're all determined to make the most of this unexpected second chance—and make each month's mortgage payment.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 534
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, realistic
Similar in 84%
Proven Innocent (2019)
Plot Summary:
Madeline Scott, a fierce and uncompromising lawyer with a hunger for justice, runs an underdog criminal defense firm. There is no one who understands the power of setting an innocent person free more than Madeline. At age 18, she was wrongfully convicted, along with her brother, in a sensational murder case. Madeline defends others as she fights to maintain her innocence and searches for the real killer in her own case.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: realistic, exciting, captivating, suspenseful
Similar in 77%
Father Dowling Mysteries (1989)
Plot Summary:
Father Dowling Mysteries is an American television mystery series that aired from January 20, 1989 to May 2, 1991. Prior to the series, a TV movie aired on November 30, 1987. For its first season, the show was on NBC; it moved to ABC for its last two seasons. It is based on the adventures of the title character created by Ralph McInerny, in a series of mystery novels. The series was produced by The Fred Siverman Company and Dean Hargrove Productions in association with Viacom Productions.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: detective, rough, realistic, suspenseful, semi serious
Similar in 80%
Dark Justice (1991)
Plot Summary:
Dark Justice is an American crime drama about a judge that turns into a vigilante by night in order to bring to justice high-level offenders that use technicalities to "escape" the legal system. The role of Judge Nicholas Marshall was played by actors Ramy Zada and Bruce Abbott. The series began airing in 1991 and ran for three seasons finishing in 1993.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 365
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA, Spain
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 88%
Reasonable Doubts (1991)
Plot Summary:
Reasonable Doubts is a police drama broadcast in the United States by NBC that ran from 1991 to 1993.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 485
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: detective, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 78%
In Defense Of (2018)
Plot Summary:
This series gives viewers a unique perspective on some of the most high profile cases as they turn the lens on the top defense lawyers who represented them. The attorneys will share riveting details from the most personal moments between attorney and client to the individual sacrifices made in order to represent these infamous cases.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 56
Genere: Crime
Country: USA
Duration:
Plot tags: psychological, tense, suspense, suspenseful
Similar in 86%
Outrageous Fortune (2005)
Plot Summary:
Outrageous Fortune is a New Zealand comedy-drama television series, which ran from 12 July 2005 to 9 November 2010 on TV3. The series followed the lives of the career criminal West family after the matriarch, Cheryl, decided the family should go straight and abide by the law. The show was created by James Griffin and Rachel Lang and produced by South Pacific Pictures. Like the show itself, episodes took their names from Shakespeare quotations. The show concluded after 6 seasons and 107 episodes making it the longest running drama series made in New Zealand. The primary cast for the show's run consisted of Robyn Malcolm, Antony Starr, Siobhan Marshall, Antonia Prebble, Frank Whitten and Kirk Torrance; Grant Bowler appeared in a sporadic role throughout the show's first five seasons. The show premiered on 12 July 2005 and was welcomed by high acclaim. It won many of the major categories in the New Zealand television awards for its first 4 years, with Malcolm's performance warmly recognised by most New Zealand reviewers. Following the show's success, both the United States and England adapted Outrageous Fortune into their own respective series, neither of which were renewed after the debut season.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Drama
Country: New Zealand
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, witty, semi serious, sexy
Similar in 85%
In Justice (2006)
Plot Summary:
In Justice is an American television police procedural created by Michelle King and Robert King. The series began airing on Sunday, January 1, 2006 on ABC as a midseason replacement and assumed its regular night and time on Friday, January 6, 2006 at 9 p.m. EST. It was cancelled after its 13-episode run on March 31, 2006. The series was simulcast in Canada on CTV. In the UK In Justice was shown on UKTV Gold beginning September 17, 2006 and was later repeated on ABC1 in 2007.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 588
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: captivating, realistic, psychological, serious
Similar in 89%
Justice (2006)
Plot Summary:
Justice is an American legal drama produced by Jerry Bruckheimer that aired on Fox in the USA and CTV in Canada. The series also aired on Warner Channel in Latin America, Nine Network in Australia, and on TV2 In New Zealand. It first was broadcast on Wednesdays at 9:00 but, due to low ratings, it was rescheduled to Mondays at 9:00, in the hope viewers of the hit series Prison Break would stay tuned. On November 13, 2006, the show was put on hiatus, but two days later the network announced it was shifting it to Fridays at 8:00 to replace the canceled Vanished. Fourteen episodes of the series were ordered, of which 13 episodes were produced. Twelve of the episodes of Justice have aired in the United States with the final episode airing in Mexico, the UK and Germany.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: serious, rough, suspenseful, realistic, captivating
Similar in 82%
Just Cause (2001)
Plot Summary:
Just Cause is an award-winning Canadian legal drama television series produced by Mind's Eye Entertainment. Filming was done in Vancouver, British Columbia but the series is set in San Francisco, California.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 122
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 88%
The Client (1995)
Plot Summary:
The Client is an American television series that aired on CBS from September 18, 1995 to August 16, 1996. The series was based on the 1994 film The Client, itself adapted from the 1993 John Grisham novel also of the same name.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 259
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 88%
Harry's Law (2011)
Plot Summary:
Harriet, Matthew and Malcolm couldn't be any more different, but when they cross paths, they realize they're all looking for a fresh start. The most unlikely of people are starting a law practice in the most unlikely of places -- a rundown shoe store.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 43 min
Plot tags: clever, serious, exciting, realistic, dramatic
Similar in 81%
Conviction (2006)
Plot Summary:
A fast-paced character-oriented story, focuses on the lives and loves of the young assistant district attorneys in New York, following their career paths as these passionate but naive ADAs are confronted with tough, emotional cases that challenge their limited experience – and force them to mature quickly or be overwhelmed.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: rough, thought provoking, serious, realistic
Similar in 87%
Outlaw (2010)
Plot Summary:
Outlaw is an American television series that was aired on the NBC network. The one-hour courtroom drama stars Jimmy Smits as a Supreme Court Justice who resigns from the bench and returns to private practice in an elite law firm where Claire Sax, love interest to Garza, is a powerful senior partner. As part of the deal the firm has an Ex-Supreme Court Justice on their staff of lawyers and Garza is allowed to pick his team and the cases he works. The series premiered on Wednesday, September 15, 2010, and began airing on Fridays beginning September 24. On October 11 Outlaw was announced as canceled by NBC and the remaining four episodes were moved to a Saturday time slot. The series finale aired on November 13, 2010.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 729
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: realistic, clever, psychological, captivating, sincere, serious
Similar in 82%
Made in Jersey (2012)
Plot Summary:
A young working-class woman who uses her street smarts to compete among her pedigreed Manhattan colleagues at a prestigious New York law firm.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 43 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, captivating, talky
Similar in 80%
Shark (2006)
Plot Summary:
Notorious Los Angeles defense attorney Sebastian Stark becomes disillusioned with his career after his successful defense of a wife-abuser results in the wife's death. After more than a month trying to come to grips with his situation, he is invited by the Los Angeles district attorney to become a public prosecutor so he can apply his unorthodox-but-effective talents to putting guilty people away instead of putting them back on the street.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspenseful, tense, suspense
Similar in 90%
Jake and the Fatman (1987)
Plot Summary:
Jake and the Fatman is a television crime drama starring William Conrad as prosecutor J. L. "Fatman" McCabe and Joe Penny as investigator Jake Styles. The series ran on CBS for five seasons from 1987 to 1992. Diagnosis: Murder was a spin-off of this series.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: detective, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 79%
Murder One (1995)
Plot Summary:
Theodore 'Teddy' Hoffman is a highly-regarded defense attorney in a prestigious Los Angeles law firm. Having successfully defended the wealthy but suspicious Richard Cross in a much-publicised murder trial, he is now involved in the defense of Neil Avedon, a famous young actor who has been suffering from severe drug and alcohol problems - and has been charged with the murder for which Cross was acquitted.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, exciting, detective, thrilling, sincere, serious, realistic, contemplative, vintage
Similar in 80%
Law & Order: Trial by Jury (2005)
Plot Summary:
Law & Order: Trial by Jury is an American television drama about criminal trials set in New York City. It was the third spin-off from the long-running Law & Order. The show's almost exclusive focus was on the criminal trial of the accused, showing both the prosecution's and defense's preparation for trial, as well as the trial itself. The series premiered on Thursday, March 3, 2005, and ended on January 21, 2006. Its regular time slot was Fridays 10/9 p.m. ET on NBC. The last episode aired on Court TV months after the series' cancellation.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: rough, suspenseful, thought provoking, realistic, serious, gloomy
Similar in 88%
The Jury (2004)
Plot Summary:
Set in New York City, the series brings the viewer into the jury room to watch the deliberators try to answer the many questions posed during a trial. As facts are exposed through flashbacks of testimony and crime footage, viewers will form their own opinions about the guilt or innocence of the defendant. Following each verdict, a final flashback will let viewers see the crime as it actually happened and reveal whether or not the jury made the right decision.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 144
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing, rough, bleak
Similar in 84%
Silent Witness (2011)
Plot Summary:
Prominent defense attorney Tony Lord returns to his hometown to defend an old friend, a teacher accused of murdering one of his students. The case re-opens the heartache from Tony's own high school days, when he was a student falsely accused of murdering his first love.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 585
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: realistic, tense, captivating, psychological, serious, suspenseful
Similar in 88%
Canterbury's Law (2008)
Plot Summary:
Elizabeth Canterbury is a force of nature. An attorney on the rise, she puts her career on the line to take on risky and unpopular cases, even when they take a toll on her personal life. Elizabeth and her law professor husband, Matt Furey, haunted by the unsolved disappearance of their young son, struggle to distance themselves from the tragedy and put their relationship back together. But those goals become elusive whenever Elizabeth's work provides a stark reminder of the justice absent in their own lives.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 644
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration:
Plot tags: realistic, captivating, psychological, atmospheric, serious, suspenseful
Similar in 75%
Reckless (2014)
Plot Summary:
A gorgeous Yankee litigator and a charming southern attorney must hide their intense mutual attraction as a police sex scandal threatens to tear the city of Charleston, S.C. apart. .
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: realistic, tense, serious, sexy, touching, captivating
Similar in 90%
100 Centre Street (2001)
Plot Summary:
100 Centre Street is an American legal drama created by Sidney Lumet and starring Alan Arkin, Val Avery, Bobby Cannavale, Joel de la Fuente and Paula Devicq.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 201
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: serious, thought provoking, realistic, suspenseful, gloomy
Similar in 77%
The Practice (1997)
Plot Summary:
The Practice is an American legal drama created by David E. Kelley centering on the partners and associates at a Boston law firm. Running for eight seasons on ABC from 1997 to 2004, the show won the Emmy in 1998 and 1999 for Best Drama Series, and spawned the successful and lighter spin-off series Boston Legal, which ran for five more seasons, from 2004 to 2008. The Practice focused on the law firm of Robert Donnell and Associates. Plots typically featured the firm's involvement in various high-profile criminal and civil cases that often mirror current events. Conflict between legal ethics and personal morality was a recurring theme. Some episodes contained light comedy. Kelley claimed that he conceived the show as something of a rebuttal to L.A. Law and its romanticized treatment of the American legal system and legal proceedings.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: tense, clever, serious, realistic, sensitive, thrilling, stylized
Similar in 83%
Your Honor (2020)
Plot Summary:
The son of a respected judge is involved in a hit-and-run that leads to a high-stakes game of lies, deceit and impossible choices. A legal thriller that rips through all strata of New Orleans society.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 64000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 57 min
Plot tags: thrilling, serious, emotional, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 89%
Rake (2014)
Plot Summary:
Keegan Deane's staggering lack of discretion and inability to self-censor land him the law cases that nobody else will touch. He always tries to do the right thing, but at the same time struggles to save himself from the many self-destructive elements that plague his own life, including women and gambling.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 43 min
Plot tags: realistic, humorous, cynical, semi serious
Similar in 84%
American Crime (2015)
Plot Summary:
An anthology drama focusing on all aspects of the U.S. criminal justice system dealing with crimes committed in America.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 43 min
Plot tags: anthology, tense, realistic, serious, exciting, suspense, detective, grindhouse, gloomy
Similar in 90%
Damages (2007)
Plot Summary:
Damages is an American legal thriller television series created by the writing and production trio of Daniel Zelman and brothers Glenn and Todd A. Kessler. The plot revolves around the brilliant, ruthless lawyer Patty Hewes and her protégée, recent law school graduate Ellen Parsons. Each season features a major case that Hewes and her firm take on, while also examining a chapter of the complicated relationship between Ellen and Patty. The first two seasons center around the law firm Hewes & Associates. Later seasons center more on Patty and Ellen's relationship as Ellen begins to distance herself from Hewes & Associates and begins an independent career.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 31000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: rough, clever, tense, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, thrilling, exciting, bloody
Similar in 82%
The Whole Truth (2010)
Plot Summary:
As District Attorney Kathryn Peale and defense attorney Jimmy Nolan rally their teams around their arguments and prepare to go head-to-head in the the courtroom, they make frantic moves and countermoves of complex legal wrangling to tilt justice in their favor.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 716
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: captivating, realistic, psychological, atmospheric, serious, contemplative